Binder



Feb. 18, 1941. E. N. FARKAS ETAL 2,232,058

BINDER Filed Oct. 10, 1938 JFZz/ r6 5, flmtff/Zrtaa:

Patented Feb. 18, 1941 .UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE BINDER Emil N.Farkas and Frank F. Farkas, Chicago, Ill.

Application October ll, 1938, Serial No. 234,180

3 Claims. (Cl. 128-1) The invention relates to a means for binding Fig.2is a plan view of the book shown in Fig. 1 leaves together and moreparticularly to such a with one of the covers open; means formedpreferably of paper or material Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken on theline similar to that used in the book. 3-4 of Fig. 1; l

The invention has among its objects the Fig. 4 is a sectional viewtakenon the line 5 production of a binding which will present a very 4-4of Fig. 1;

attractive appearance, and will simulate the ap- Fig. 5 is a plan viewof the retaining member pearance of a plurality of individual rings,used in conjunction with thebooks shown in although constructed from aflat sheet oi ma- Figs. 1 and 2;

terial not preformed in that shape. and assembled Fig. 6 is a plan viewof one or the leaves used 1 while still in the uniormed state, therebyprein the book; venting injury or weakening of the elements Fig. 7 is aplan view of a book. with a modified which might occur were it necessaryto distort form of binder, portions of the book being cut and force apreformed retaining means into enaway. to disclose the latter;

gagement with suitably shaped, leaves. The Fig. 8 is. a sectionalviewtaken on the line 15 present invention therefore ideally adaptsitself H of Fig. '7; for use with the retaining elements formed com-Fig. 9'is a plan view of the retaining member pletely of paper. Thepaper used may be of a used in the construction shown in Fig. "I; andsingle thickness or if desired, may be laminated 1 Fig. 10 is a planview of one of the pages used or provided with a special coating ofvarnish or with the retaining member-oi Fig. 9. 1 a l 2 other suitablematerial. I 7' Referring to Figs. 1 through 6, l represents Anotherobject of the invention is the producgenerally a book comprising aplurality 0! leaves tion of a binding in which the retaining member 2,the two outer leavesbeing formed from heavier is so designed that itmaybe engaged as a unit material, if desired, to provide covers 3. Thesewith the leaves of thebook, the engagement j coversareconstru'ctedsubstantially the same as 25 being accomplished insubstantially one operathe leaves 2, all being provided with a pluralitytion with the parts of the retaining. member sub oi apertures l and 5adjacent one end thereof, stantially simultaneously engaging the leaves.theportlon of the'leai intermediate theseaper- Also, the leaves are soconstructed th t they m y. tures. being cutor slit as shown at 5-].These be flexed slig y wfacllitate h assembly and cuts, preferablymerely knife edge cuts with none 30 engagement. I r of the materialbeing removed, may extend be- Another object of theinvention is theproductween all-of the adjacent apertures. or, as shown tion of such abinding, which due to its novel in Flg 6, merely between articulargroups of cons r fln la ve y few o i n to apertures, as for example, thecuts 6 extend ben assemble. t same, which Operations tween the apertures4 and the cuts I between 35 ay eperf med with the rd na y equipmentapertures 5. As illustrated in Fig. 5, the retainfound in th usu l p sshp or in e ving member H is substantially ladder shaped and A. f rherfobject oi. the invention is the concomprises a plurality of crossmembers or rungs truc n' of a l l hi 15 p mGX-l 12 connected at theirends by the laterally ex- 40 pensive, and durable for the purposesintende tending side portions l3 and ii. If the cuts 40 thus providing,a binding which provides the extend consecutively between all of theapertures maximum in-utility and:appearancewith rela '4 and I, theportions l3 will be formed in a g l very 11 t f unitary constructionsimilar to the portion I3,

I Many, other objects and advantages of the. but if the cuts extendmerely between groups of construction herein, shown'an'd. described willbe apertures as shown in Fig. 6, the side member 45 obvious tothoseskilled in .the 'art, from the diswill be divided into as many sectionsas there are .closureherein givenp J v r u s f n t d ap rtur s and cuts-As To this end our'i 'vention' consists in the novel shown in Figs. 2and 5, each portion I3 is equivaconstruction, arrangement andcombination of lent to the aggregate length of the apertures and partshereinshown and described and more 'parcuts in a respective group; forexample, the por- 60 ticularly pointed out inthe claims. tions. l3illustrated are substantially equal in In vthefldrawingwherein likereference charlength to the aggregate length of the aperturesacters'indicate like or corresponding parts: 5 andcuts 1 or theapertures 4 and cuts 6.

' Fig. 1 isja plan view of a book in closed posi- I To assemble thedevice, the leaves 2 are stacked v tion; f w with the two cover leaves 3side by side, the sur- 55 faces thereof forming the outer faces in' thefinished book being adjacent one another, after which the portions ll ofthe retaining member H are passed through the respective apertures andcuts of the two cover members 3, then through the respective aperturesand slits in the leaves.

, This engaginglof the retaining member with the leaves may befacilitated by flexing the leaves slightly so that each leaf will tendto separate at the knife edge cuts 6 and I, so that the retaining membermay easily be passed as a unit through the leaves, after which thelatter will readily resume their normal position and prevent anydisengagement between the parts.

Following the engaging of the retaining member and leaves, the covermembers are rotated in place, as shown in Figs. 3 and 4, the portions 13and Ii of the retaining member (being adjacent the innerv face of one ofthe cover members so that the outward appearance is merely that of aplurality of rings passing through the respective apertures. Obviously,the retaining member I! could be inserted in the reverse direction;namely, first, through the leaves and then through the cover members,although this would not provide quite as secure an engagement as theformer construction, and likewise, as a matter of choice, the portions13 and I 3' could be positioned between any two leaves desired. Also, ifdesired, the cuts 6 and I could be curved and angular as well as in asingle straight line and with the respective cuts formed transverse toone another so that-in either case, it would be necessary to bend orfiex the retaining member slightly when inserting it through the leaves,thereby providing a still more positive interlocking between theelements.

Illustrated in Figs. 7, 8, 9, and 10 is another manner in which the cuts8 and 1 might be modifled. In this construction, the cuts II are in theform of very narrow slits, these being so formed merely as a conveniencein assembling the device, and if desired, may be in the form of a outonly instead-of the slit as shown. These cuts or slits extend directlyto the and leaves, thereby indirectly connecting the apertures as do thecuts 8 and I in the first construction and as each aperture ll isprovided with a slit, it is not necessary that one side member 23 of theladder-like retaining member 2| be divided into sections similar to theportions I3 of the retaining member ll.

In assembling the latter construction, the cross members or rungs 22 areinserted into the apertures ll by passing them through the slits or cutsl1, each cross member being bent or twisted slightly during theinsertion thereof into its respective aperture. The slits I] areextremely narrow and while they permit passing through of the crossmembers 22 when the retaining member is in a flat position, they wouldnot allow undesired repassing of the cross members after they have beenformed into apparent rings, in the completed binding,

During the engaging of the leaves and retaining .means, the two coversare positioned adiacent one another so that when the outer cover isrotated about into its normal position, the cross members 22 will extendaround the adiacent edge of the leaves, as shown in Fig. 8, with theportions 23 adjacent one another similar to the first construction.

While we have shown the retaining member as an element separate from thecovers, if desired.

cross members is formed subsequent to the assembly of the leaves andretaining member so that the cross members are engaged whilesubstantially flat, thereby preventing injury to the same, 10

and also safely allowing some flexing of the members if necessary,Likewise, by providing a ladder-llke retaining member, a very strongbinding is produced, free from weakened and small delicate elements,etc., thereby eliminating the comparatively weak comb-like structurespreviously used, thus ideally adapting itself to be made from paper andother materials which do not ordinarily favorably lend themselves to thepreformed constructions old in the art. As the device is not preformed,any cuts made in the leaves or retaining members would at the most benot greater than the thicknms of the paper or other material used, incontrast to the old constructions where a paper retaining member wouldbe injured and 25 tom if the slots were not constructed relativelylarger. This construction would be objectionable as the increase in thesize of the slots would decrease the eifectiveness of the locking actionbetween the leaves and retaining member. However, by constructing theretaining member as a flat ladder-like structure, and assembling thedevice while in an unformed state, no distorting or forcing of theretaining member is necessary so that injury thereto is substantiallyeliminated.

Having thus described our invention, it is obvious that variousimmaterial'modiflcations may be made in the same without departing fromthe spirit of our invention; hence, we do not wish to be understood aslimiting ourselves to the exact .10 form, construction, arrangement andcombination of parts herein shown and described or uses mentioned.

What we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a device of the kind described, a plurality of leaves havingaperturesadjacent one end thereof, a flexible ladder-like retainingmember having a plurality of cross members connected at their respectiveends by laterally extending to portions, and a plurality of cuts in saidleaves communicating with said apertures providing means for insertingsaid cross membersln said apertures to lock said sheets and retainingmember to one another, said cross members extending through theapertures in said leaves, around the adjacent ends thereof, through theapertures in at least one other leaf with the lateral portions of saidladder-like retaining member adjacent one another, said cross membersforming substane tially complete flexible rings.

2. In a device of the kind described, a plurality of leaves havingapertures adjacent one end thereof, a ladder-like retaining memberhaving a plurality of cross members connected at their respective endsby laterally extending portions, and a plurality of cuts in said leavesconnecting adjacent apertures, the combined span of the apertures andcuts connecting the same being of a size to allow passage of a laterallyextending 7 portion of said retaining-member through said leaves.

3. In a device of the kind described, a plurality of leaves havingapertures adjacent one end I thereof, a flat. ladder-like retainingmember hav- 76" ing a plurality of cross members connected at theirrespective ends by laterally extending side through said leaves, to locksaid sheets-and retaining member to one another, said cross membersextending through the apertures in said leaves, around the adjacent endsthereof, through the apertures in at least one other leaf with thelateral side portions of said ladder-like retain- 5 in member adjacentone another.

' EMIL N. FARKAS.

F. FARKAS.

